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Peril
Book 1: The Thieving City =Chapter 1= Book 1: The Thieving City, Chapter 1 This city is a nightmare. A long time ago it was called Nimbus Station. A group called The Nexus Force made its main economic and military income here. They succeeded in defeating the Maelstrom, the enemies, and soon disbanded. Veterans of the Maelstrom War have since vanished or went into hiding. They knew that without a force to keep law, thieves would loot endlessly. Some scoffed at them, but they were right. Thieves are everywhere, and there is almost no social order exists anymore. Ruthless gangs and groups occupy certain areas of town. Five years after all the chaos started and calmed down, a few gangs agreed to join together and take over all of the Maelstrom-free worlds that the Nexus Force had freed. The ruthless New Empire, as they call themselves. They have since then destroyed all gangs that tried to stop them, or tried to defend their land. The smart gangs joined them, but the prideful ones lost their bricks and their land. The New Empire is the leading government all across the land. I was born during the peak of the New Empire, which some say is still going. Some say their downhill is near, but I see no end in sight. Anyways, they made their own currency, their own army, and crushed every uprising against them. If you even so say a mean word about the New Empire, you get smashed. Sounds like a good world, now that there's government, right? Wrong. They don't stop any looting, and it has since then gone up. Prices have gone up on everything. Those who can spare money buy a weapon to try and defend their families, but most cannot afford to do so. The rich use guns and loot poor families, take their children, and sell them as slaves. The parents are smashed and all their good taken. We would have been better off without government. Whenever we see New Empire officials, you know you gotta take cover. They're even worse than the rich. They will gun you down and take your money. They drive around in handfuls, so you can't hope to smash them by yourself. It's bad world, and the only way you can make money is to farm. I lost my family when I was young and I've been a slave ever since. Well, I'm outside, going to buy seeds. A few basic rules to keep in mind when you're in the New Empire's version of Nimbus Station. You gotta look around and be aware of what happens if you wanna survive. Keep your hand on your wallet at all times. The thieves here won't hesitate to rip your pockets out just to get your wallet. All banks have been closed since thieves became too common. You must not look at anyone while at the streets. Keep a weapon with you at all times. So many thieves and burglars in this city because of rumors of a city which pours great fortunes and protection. They say renmants of fair government and veterans of The Nexus Force rest there. Currency is worth something, law is strict, thieving is non-existent, and food is available more than two times a day! I met my best friend during the first day of school by talking about the rumors of the city. He is now a Professor, and he is only a year older than me! His name is Professor Mike. He knows all about every single rumor about the great safe-zone treasure, as we call it. He recently acquired a burnt-up old paper from when he went to Riverndank Canyon in Crux Prime. Our boss said mega-rare seeds were there. We could make millions off it, and if we succeeded, we might get more than one meal a day! Imagine, two meals a day! No more saving some food for later. We never found the seeds, and our boss let Mike live. I am grateful to our boss for that small mercy. The paper had these instructions: "Take me to the underground of this city, the town where the ghosts live and hide. As soon as your arrive, the next instructions will show in this paper." Mike and I are running away from our slave owner this weekend, and leaving to find this "Ghost Town" as Mike and I jokingly call it. I have now bought the seeds and are heading back to the shack. If I take more than half an hour coming from here and there, the guards around our shacks, will gun us down at their sight of us. "Castle! What, you think you can be late? You're one minute before the deadline!" Mike greets me with a handshake. We walk away and he looks around, making sure one of our guards isn't listening. The sound of planting seeds fills the air. "Tomorrow is Saturday. We can go on to our journet. Make preparations, we leave tonight at three in the morning." I nod and keep doing this vigorous work, Mike next to me working along. We both smile under our rice hats as a New Empire jeep passed by in a dirt road. =Chapter 2= Chapter 2: The Fore Woman. (My View) I sat on the wall in pure boredom. I was a forewoman here on the farm and I pretty much hated it. I liked how I was treated (Minus how the other foremen treat me). I was well fed, had a nice place to sleep, and clean clothes to wear. What I hated was having to watch the poor slaves work all day long. I almost was a slave, as many of the others reminded me all the time. The slave finders (As I liked to call them) had came to my house. They lit it on fire making my family and I run out. I had no idea what happen to my family because the slave finders grabbed me as soon as I was out of the house. They sold me to this farm, or tried at least. See, My pass time as a kid was teaching myself to fight, so when they brought be to the slave owner, I grabbed one of the guards swords and tried to fight back. The slave owner stopped me and put me through a few tests. After I completed them, he said, " Why waste a fighter like this on a slave?" I didn't think of myself that well. I had only just barely made it through the tests. The Dinner bell rang and all the foremen where switched out with younger ones (Which this part made me feel awkward since I was only thirteen and I was going to dinner with the older foremen). The dinner hall was a huge room. Bright lights shined everywhere. A long table of food lined the back walls. In the center, many tables with comfortable chairs slowly filled up with men and women. I grabbed my food I wanted and left the nice dining hall. I did this often with the excuse that I wanted to watch the slaves while I eat but the real reason was because I hated being with those freaks. I sat down near the dark slave houses. The houses must be terribly cold. No light shined in the windows in the after noon. Only in the morning to wake the slaves. I watched two boys talking and snacking on some left over food they had saved from their only meal. At first I just ignored them but I quickly realized they were acting secretive. I quietly moved over and listened to them talk. " We were suppose to leave today!" One boy said crossly. " There is no real way out, plus I didn't grab my stuff in time, they caught me." The other mumbled. " We need to rethink this." The first boy sighed. " Yes. Let start on what we need to bring." The second boy said and started listing items, " Blankets, food, water, maps.." " disguises," I added, making both boys jump. "What… What are you talking about?" The first boy said. " Where are you going anyway? Come on tell me," I said, moving over to them. " No where." The second boy said. " Hmm. Ok how about this. You tell me what you were planing and I'll pretend I wasn't listening. You don't tell me and I'll tell the boss you are planing escape, " I said. The boys looked at me then at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Finally the first boy spoke up. " We are running away to find a ghost town and maybe a treasure." The boy answered. I smiled. "Finally." I breathed with a small laugh, " an excuse to get out of here." Both boys looked at me with surprised faces. " you want out..?" The second boy asked. " Yes. I hate it here as much as you do," I said, " And I want in on this Treasure thing." " Maybe we don't want you in," The first boy said crossly. " Maybe I'll just have to tell the boss then" I replied. " Castle, let her join us. She can get us out of here," The second boy said. " Fine," the first boy sighed, "What's the plan, Miss?" " First, Names Diana, second, Its simple, The Farm us guarded right? Well I know a safe way out. I'll sneak you two out pretending you are dead." I said…. =Chapter 3= Book 1: The Thieving City, Chapter 3 I awoke when Mike nudged me awake. Three in the morning. Showtime. I took my packed bags and put on the brown hood like Diana ordered us to. Mike had one too, but his was ragged. I guess to buy it even more. Mike got his huge backpack and opened the door slowly. It creaked. "Duuude!" I said, in a very hushed whisper. Another slave awoke. Diana was outside. She had set off the alarms secretly, just in case we were caught. We got into our brown hoods and walked outside, closing the slave's shack door for the last time., before the just-awoken slave said "Five more minutes..." We got into the black plastic bag. Our brown hoods over our heads and barely breathing. The guards couldn't hear us. "Two smashed today because of malnutrition." Dino said to the guards. I overheard the guards. "That's the tent this week, and it's only Wednesday." he said. 'If they know we're smashing because of malnutrition, why don't they feed us more?!" Probably just plain cruelty. And this is how they disposed of the bodies? Inside a plastic bag? "Throw it into the road, a New Empire jeep will pick it up in the morning and throw it in the trash." the guard said. The other guard was quiet. I signaled to Mike to be quiet. "I'll throw them in the trash can, they were minifigures too." Diana said quietly. She was a good actor. "You always have had a soft stop for slaves, don't you?" The other guard said, chuckling. We felt being dragged into the corner, and then felt the bag being ripped open. "They'll come to inspect in a second. Throw away your brown hoods and get inside that sewer hole there." Diana pointed to a sewer hole several meters away from us. "I'll be right behind you. GO GO GO!" We ran as Dino took out her pistol and faced the guards. As we got into the sewer hole, we heard two bullets go off. Diana soon joined us, putting the sewer hole's cap on as quietly as possible and putting away her pistol. "Let's go left...I got a feeling the Ghost Town is there..." Mike said, leading the way, Diana and I shrugged, and followed Mike. =Chapter 4= Chapter 4: The Sewer of bricks and bones After we were sure where we were going, I took lead. I led the two slave boys down the long sewer path. They both looked a little shaken, but they were talking quietly with excitement. We came to a cross way only about a mile away from the farm. " Hey Mike, Which way?" I called back. I had gotten a better look at the boys. Mike was a tall skinny minifig. His hair was black and it hung in his face. Castle had brown hair styled smoothly. I was surprised at how flat his hair was. Both boys wore glasses yet Castle's were broken. " Um…. This way" Mike answered, pointing to the right which would lead away from the farm. " Left would go under the farm," He explained his choice. We walked down the right path for about an hour. It was kinda boring and staring at the walls or the stuff around you was not a good idea unless you had a strong stomach. Moss grew on the walls, covering whatever ladders or paint or whatever hung on it. The water smelled horrible and was a deep green color. Rats ran up and down the paths, some even jumped into the water, only to end up as smashed bricks. The most sickening of all was the bones and bricks that covered the path and floated in the water. To past the time I decided to chat a little. " So.. What do you think this ghost town is going to be like?" I asked randomly. " I don't know," Mike said, " maybe it will be an old shopping mall with all the sales over." He added with a smirk. " That doesn't sound too scary" I snickered. I had never been the shopping type. In these times I'd be surprise if anyone like that were still around. "It's probably going to look like this sewer," Castle said. He had been quite quiet back there and I jumped at the sound of his voice. "Most likely the leftovers of the criminals," Agreed Mike with a shiver. Then he added to lighten the mood, " I hope they left us SOMETHING good at least! I mean those guys shoot out the town clean!" " Mike, you fail at jokes when you are scared," Castle laughed. We walked in silences for a few before I broke it. "So… What was your least favorite part of being a slave?" I asked. It seemed like an odd question but it was all I could think of. I doubted any minifig in the right mind would have a "favorite" part of being a slave. " Having to do the home work," Mike sighed, "boss's kid was to lazy to do his own work so he made ME do it." " Why?" I blinked. I didn't see how a slave could do home work and get As. Yet again, I had no idea who they were before they became slaves. " I got a doctors degree before I became a slave," Mike said. " Whoa! Aren't you a little young for that?" I asked. " Eh, These days if you know what Two plus two is you can get a doctor in math with ease!" Mike joked. "I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't kidding," I smirked, " How about you Castle?" " The Foremen and the Boss," Castle answered, "I can't take them. They think they are so great just because they get to sit on a fancy wall. The laws of this time are fails!" Castle looked pretty upset and Mike gave me a " Don't push him" Look. I wasn't at all offended by Castle's comment. I really didn't care for the other foremen either, though it troubled me to think he used to see me as the same. As we walked father down the path, the number of bones and bricks on the ground grew. Soon we pasted piles and piles of bones and bricks. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and covered the piles. " Is this where they throw the slaves?" Mike shivered. He must have been remembering the old warning that they would throw you into the sewer if you didn't work fast enough. " No Mike," I answered but I was shaking myself. I had taken out my gun and was holding it tightly. A sound of a rat squeaked, and I jumped and shot the rat. The sound of the gun bounced off the walls and echoed for what must have been miles. " Oh nice going," Castle muttered, pushing past me and taking lead. " Hey! I'm scared," I whispered. "Well stop being scared then. We didn't let you on this quest for you to shake so hard it causes an earth quake or to shoot the wall and make us lose our hearing," Castle said crossly. " I'm the one with the gun here, Castle. Watch your mouth or the next bullet won't hit the wall," I replied. I wasn't going to let anyone boss me around. Castle didn't reply to my threat instead he just kept on walking. We walked in silence for about another hour. The smell got worse and we had to start walking over the piles of bones. I didn't want to climb over them so I just shot them. Blasting them to bricks then walking across easily. Mike and Castle had given me crossed looks and finally just let me blast us through. Once we reached a clear path again I let castle take lead once more. " HEY GUYS! I see something ahead!" Castle shouted and dashed forward. The rush of water made me realize that there was a waterfall ahead. " CASTLE" I yelled trying to warn him but he slipped on a bone and disappeared over the edge . =Interlude= -Interlude 1- "Are you sure?" I asked The Boss. "Dear President, I am sure." The Boss said, legs quivering. I screamed and The Boss shook even more. He gave me an apologetic, quivering bow. "Well those two won't survive. Escaping is not accepted, in ANY OF THE SIX DISTRICTS." I said. I thought for a moment. "Find them, hunt them down, and make sure they do not survive. They cannot survive. Nobody escapes the New Empire." I said. "Yes Mr. President. Send your aid to the Second District's most recognizable camp. I'll tell them that their main goal is to smash the forewoman, and the slaves are the secondary goal." The Boss said. "Good, out." I ordered. The Boss stumbled out, leaving me alone with eight New Empire guards. =Chapter 5= Book 1: The Thieving City, Chapter 5, The Ghost As I fell, I decided to close my eyes. A quick smashing for me. Although I do ponder why my life was gonna end at the start of my adventu- CRASH! I hit the ground sooner than I thought. I tried to stand up. My leg bones had been broken. I tried to move my arms. Broken too. I could hear Dino argue with Mike, both of them trying to decide how to help me. I saw two figures walk towards me. "Well we got another one, eat him." I heard the first voice say. "Aw come on, why can't we take one in every once in a while?" the second voice said. "BECAUSE I'M HUNGRY!" the first voice roared. I heard a sword being pulled from its sheath. "We're taking this one in." the second voice ordered. "I'm a ghost, it won't hurt me! Besides, with a snap of my fingers, I can make you vanish." the first voice said. "Stop arguing...I really need help." I said, with the little strength I had left. "Oh dear, he's a slave! Let's eat him!" said the first voice. The both walked up to me. One was a ghost, he was a floating minifigure with blue skin that you could see through. The second was a normal minifigure, dressed neatly with a blue longsword that pumped lighting. "DynamoMasterlyCobra, let's just eat him already!" The ghost told the other minifigure. "No! Let's just help him already!" Cobra said. "Eat him!" "Help him! "Eat him!" "Help him!" "Eat!" "Why do you need to eat anyways? You're a ghost!" "Oh yeah. Let's help him then." The ghost snapped its fingers and I was transported at a house. Cobra and the ghost came soon afterwards. The ghost snapped his fingers again, and my pain slipped away. Although I still hurt, A LOT, I could talk again. "Hey, since you've got magic, can you teleport my friends here?" I asked the ghost. "No." he replied. "Lemony..." Cobra said. "Alright, alright." Lemony the Ghost said. "What are their names?" "Diana and Mike." I said. "Hey, the runaways. You know, the New Empire is going on a massive hunt to find you guys." Lemony said, and chuckled. Lemony snapped his fingers, and both Diana and Mike appeared in the house. Mike had a dagger to Diana's neck and Diana had a sword to Mike's neck. They quickly put it away when they saw me. I filled them in and told them how Cobra and Lemony the Ghost had rescued me and how Lemony could do magic my just snapping his fingers. Lemony soon mysteriously disappeared. Cobra was still "waking up the ghosts." We soon left the house where I was recovering. I closed the moldly door behind me. Diana, Mike, and I entered Ghost Town. It looked as if it was twilight. Leafless trees hung around the area, making the town eerier than before. It had the sign "Population: 401." and dozens of houses. They all looked old and their wood rotten. They weren't in rows. It was as if someone had just randomly grabbed all the houses and thrown each of them in this particular area. "Well?" Diana asked Mike impatiently. Mike looked startled. "Oh, right!" He checked the burnt-up paper. A new set of instructions were there. "Go to the house numbered 17 and knock on it five times, ask the man about The Ten Books of Plasma," Diana laughed. "That makes no sense. Lemony is magic so he could have sensed why we're here, and Cobra is still 'waking the ghosts'" "It's called Ghost Town for a reason. Maybe the person who will help us will be another ghost." Mike said. I sighed and signaled for them to follow me as they began to argue. They quieted down and we began inspecting each house. "Found it!" Dino called out after a while of looking. We walked up to a house, it's wood rotten like all the other houses, except this one had two floors. I started to knock but Mike pushed me out of the way. I glared at Mike. He smiled slyly and knocked five times. "Come in." said a voice that sounded like Lemony's. We jumped. "Ladies first?" Mike said, opening the door for Diana. He was clearly scared. Diana rolled her eyes and walked in. I went in after, and then Mike, reluctantly. He closed the door. We looked around. Bone piles served as a second layer of the floor."What is your business here?" Lemony's voice asked. "We're here to learn about The Ten Books of Plasma." I said, trying to sound brave. "Oh those things. Easy. I thought you were here to try and challenge me like all those fools before you." Lemony appeared in front of us. He floated slowly up and down. He was made of clear blue bricks that you could see through. "Yes...I left their bones for decoration...might not be a wise move for travelers like you, right?" I opened my mouth to talk, but the ghost talked first. "Well, the Ten Books of Plasma are the books that you must have before you can enter the safe-zone city of vast riches. There is a giant door blocked by debris underground. New Empire guards are around it, and they've been trying to find a way inside it for a long time, but they must have the Books of Plasma to open it. You hold up all ten books, and it opens, or so legend says." Lemony took a deep breath and we all stood in awe. "Well, how can we find these Books of Plasma?" I asked, when it was clear that Diana and Mike were still absorbing this info. "Well, every time you collect a Book of Plasma, I can see where the next is hidden, so you'll have to take me on your travels." I jumped. Lemony seemed like the kind of guy who'd complain a lot on a long road. "We've got the paper, which fills us with instructions. We don't need you." Diana said. Lemony snapped his fingers and the paper which led us here lit on fire. Mike dropped it quickly. "Not anymore. Better take me. I needed to go for a walk anyways." Lemony said, forcing himself on our adventure. Cobra burst through the door soon. "The ghosts are awake." he said calmly. We looked out the window, where hundreds of ghosts walked to and fro to their locations. Diana and Mike soon joined me, and then I walked outside and gazed at this eerie sight. Ghosts came to and fro without hesitating to talk out loud or look for New Empire jeeps. Is this what it was like? A big part of me wanted to stay here, in this seemingly and creepily perfect Ghost Town. =Chapter 6= Chapter 6 I was NOT happy about Lemony joining our little group. The Ghost creeped me out. It was even MORE creepy to see all the ghost in the ghost town. There were millions of them! The strange thing was how they were acting. Ghost kids ran around playing carelessly in the streets. Adult ghosts floated around and acting like they were a live. A young girl ghost flew around an old street market, looking in the empty baskets as if there was actually food in them. A Male minifig dashed off to a broken old office building. Ghost talked a loud and had no worry about the guards or robbers. " Whoa. Huh.. If only they weren't ghost," Mike said, " I'd almost want to stay here." " Agreed," I mumbled, not taking my eyes off of the strange town. " Its not that bad really, I've been the handy man for this Village for a while," Cobra said. I frowned. For a handy man, he had A LOT of work to do. The place was in ruins. Some buildings lay in haft. One even looked like someone had taken a knife and chopped it down the middle. " It took A LOT of work to get it this way… the ghost are picky and Lemony never helps," Cobra Sighed. " WAIT… You made the town ruins??" I asked blankly. " Well Duh, It's a GHOST town!" Cobra answered. " I guess that makes since…" Mike agreed. " If you are the handy man? Do you have a truck?" Castle asked. He had started talking to Lemony about the books of plasma, while we looked at the town. I was to busy watching The ghost that I wasn't listening to what he was saying to Lemony. "Yea I do, Why?" Cobra answered. " Can we take it? A car would be useful," Castle said. "No! No one takes my car!" Cobra shouted. "Oh ok, We will walk then," Castle sighed. He looked disappointed and I shared his feeling. Who knows how long we will have to walk. "Why the long faces?" Cobra blinked. " Um. Well we don't want to walk," I muttered. " Oh, Well, I can drive you," Cobra said. "You just said you won't let us take that car though," Mike mumbled. " No, I said you couldn't take it and drive it yourselves, But I'll be willing to drive ya! This place is getting boring anyway," Cobra smiled, " Hey Lemony, Have you given them your book?" " Oh! I forgot" The ghost giggled. He pulled out a glowing book and handed it to castle. " Here is the first Book of plasma!" The Ghost laughed and disappeared as soon as Castle took it. " Um where did he-" Mike started to ask only to scream with Lemony appearing behind him. Cobra let out a loud laugh. " Nice one Lemony! Ok to the truck!" When he said "His truck" I thought it would be some beat up old box on wheels that seemed like oil. I was not expecting a fully pumped up pick-up truck. It was nicely cleaned and a deep blue color. The back carried many toolboxes and other junk, as well as a nice size turret. " What's the turret for?" Mike asked, " Is that how you "fix" the houses around here?" He had added a tone to tell that was a joke. " Yep!" Cobra said cheerfully. Castle, Mike, and Lemony climbed into the back of the pick-up. I took shotgun and Lemony pretty much just disappeared. Mike jumped into the driver seat and put in the key. " Um, Do you even know how to drive?" Mike asked. Cobra was no older then us. " Of course I do!" Cobra answered. The car took off without warning making all three of us grab on to the sides of the car. As soon as we were on the roads (More like riding down the clearest path in some forest near by the ghost town.) Lemony appeared in my lap. I was surprised that the ghost weighted a good few pounds. " Oof!" I coughed under his ghostly behind. " Where too lemony?" Cobra asked. " West" The ghost said and disappeared again. " What is wrong with that… Guy?" I muttered. I didn't like Lemony much, He didn't really make any since to me. " I'm not suppose to make since, Silly girl!" Lemony voice giggled in my head. " That's nice" I breathed. " Say something Diana?" Castle asked. "No," I answered and closed my eyes to catch some sleep on the road.... =Chapter 7= Book 2: The Thieving City, Chapter 7, A Long Drive Dino and Cobra in the front, separated by big and bulky backpacks. It was all our supplies and some weapons Cobra took from the abandoned sheriff's office. Nobody cared, after all, the residents of the town were ghosts! They couldn't be harmed. They just had to live for the rest of eternity. Maybe that wasn't the best way to go... Where was our destination West? "Guys, where do think we're going?" I asked Mike and Lemony, who were in the back of the truck with me, I was sitting in front of the turret with Mike and Lemony sitting on either sides. Lemony chuckled. Mike shrugged. "The ruined Nexus Tower, foolish slave!" Lemony said, waving me off. Nexus Tower! I had dreamt "Hey Castle! Ask Diana or Cobra to toss me some binoculars!" Mike said. "I think I see someone behind us!" I expected him to smirk at me, but he looked at me, with the serious face he had when I saw him come out of his home one time when I was buying seeds, and his face and body were bruised. I heard the parents scream inside his house and walked away quickly. I opened the truck's back window and faced Diana. "Hey..." we both said, a bit awkward. After a small pause, I finally spoke up. "Mike needs binoculars. He thinks he may have seen someone following us." I said. Diana nodded and then looked around the backpacks. She found a pair and handed them to me. I tossed them to Mike, who failed to catch them and they fell to the road, broken. "Sorry..." he said, with red cheeks, and a smirk. Lemony rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A set of binoculars appeared on Mike's lap. I apologized and closed the truck's window. Odd thing, Cobra never even bothered to glance at me. "So what is it, Mike?" I asked. Mike was on the turret, looking at the faint dust train that we were leaving behind. Thank goodness the motor on this truck was quiet. I heard Mike whisper "Oh no..." Only to make me more paranoid. "WHAT IS IT?!" I asked, impatiently. "Two New Empire jeeps." he said. I felt my eyes go wide. Even Lemony stood up. I told Dino the news. The truck panicked as weapons were handed out and Mike got on the turret, aiming at the jeeps. =Interlude 2= -Interlude 2- The President walked off his majestic chair which was covered in red velvet. The eight guards stood at ease, automatic rifles in their hands and blue bandanas. Their dirt-colored camouflage suits which seemed to be a bit torn. They wore black goggles of which you couldn't see into, so you wouldn't see the fire raging in their eyes. Their dirt-colored helmet seemed indestructible. They were my top eight soldiers. They had smashed more rogue slaves and crushed uprisings than the President could count. With his endless potions and savage army, it's no use trying to rebel against the New Empire. The President took out his cellphone and called two jeep drivers. They eventually found the guard who was tricked by the trio and he said they went down the sewer. They disassembled the jeeps and then assembled both of them once inside. With the twelve-man crew, they would go after the slaves and the forewoman and smash them. Nobody would defy the New Empire and live to tell the tale. =Chapter 8= Chapter 8: The Chase I stared at the New Empire jeeps that were now in a fast chase with us. Mike started blasting at them with the turret on the back of the truck. Castle threw whatever we had that was heavy and not important at the jeeps. Neither of them hit the Jeeps. " Guns and bombs!" I shouted. " We have bombs?" Castle asked. " Yes," I answered. " WELL HAND THEM OVER!" Castle yowled. I quickly pulled out the bombs and handed them to castle. He lit the bombs and threw them at the Jeeps. The bombs missed fell short and made a huge creator in the ground behind us. The first New Empire jeep jumped the hole and the second drove threw it, slowing down. The New Empire jeep started to attack us. Drivers leaned out the window and sent bullets flying around us. Castle and Mike had to hit the deck in order to miss the bullets that wizzed around us. Many of them hit their marks. I was pretty sure the Truck looked like Swiss cheese. " HIT THE GAS!" Lemony screamed in panic with all the attacks. " NO WA-" I started to yelp but without warning, Cobra pressed a button. I had only three seconds to flip around and sit right in my seat before two large rockets popped out of the sides of the truck and blasted forward at a huge amount of speed. I was pressed deep into the seat. I heard Castle face plant and him squeak with a loud thud. I guessed Mike fell out of the turret and landed on top of him. Lemony was holding on for dear…. Life? to the window. " I think we lost the- Nope we didn't," Castle muttered from the back. I couldn't look behind me because I was stuck in the seat, but I could see in the mirror the jeeps. " HOW DO WE LOSE THESE FREAKS?" I yelled just as the jeeps started firing at us again. " Um… PLAN B!" Mike shouted. I bet he had a smirk on his face or something. I there was a loud clanking sound. " MIKE WHAT ARE YOU-" Castle yowled but was cut off by a loud crash. Finally able to pull myself out of the hole I made in the seat thanks to the G force of our speed up, I flipped around to see Mike had managed to push the turret out of the truck. One of the jeeps was smashed but the slower one still was on our tail. I climbed threw the small window into the back. Taking out my gun, I sat down in a snipping pose but wasn't even able to pull the trigger before I fell over with a sharp turn. " Ugh! Mike, hold me still," I commanded. Mike held onto my shoulders while I trid to snipe the jeep. Sadly, I was never a wonderful shot and only managed to hit the sides of the truck. " I got an Idea!" Lemony exclaimed. He flew in front of me and stuffed something into my gun. I pulled the trigger but whatever Lemony had just stuffed in my gun went off, making me drop it. The gun bounced out onto the street and went off right as the New Empire jeep drove past it. The shot must have hit the gas tank because two seconds later the Jeep exploded. " YES!" All the boys cheered. " LEMONY YOU OWE MY A NEW GUN!" I cried. The gun was the only weapon (next to the sword and bow) I was good with. All I had left now was a knife. " Sure sure," Lemony said, waving his ghostly hand at me. If he wasn't a ghost I swear I wanted to punch him. Apparently, He could read my thoughts cause he disappeared with a giggle and took my seat in the front. We road in peace for another maybe hour before reaching an old shack… Book 2: The Golden Golem Book 2: The Golden Golem, Chapter 1: An Odd Addition As we stopped in the shack to ask for directions, I instantly lost hope that living things were here. The shack's wood was moldly and rotten, a sign that said "Rides to the Nexus Tower!" was painted in green spraying can and barely hung onto the roof of the shack. The window's were cracked open, and the door was no more. I peeked in to see the inside was perfectly fine, although empty. I walked inside while the rest of our group followed. "You guys don't actually think someone lives here, right?" I ask the group. Mike shakes his head. Cobra is examining our truck, which was a piece of junk now. Bullet holes covered it and the back window was cracked. Both back wheels were deflated. He took out the last backpack, with our supplies. We each carried a backpack with a pistol, a knife, a special weapon, ammo, and some supplies. Just in case we got lost. They were gray and tattered. Lemony had a backpack too, although it was useless since he would live forever. "Knock on the door." I told Mike. I hear Cobra cursing at the New Empire, something about his "brand new truck with special heat-seeking missiles." We all stare at him, then turn away when he looks our way. "Ugh, I'll do it!" Diana said. She knocked the door vigorously. "This better lead somewhere, because in that truck, we're getting nowhere." Cobra said, joining us. Behind the door, we heard a "Be right there!" from a voice. I heard locks loosen and chains being untied. I rejoiced when I saw people here. "We've been living here, eating out of our huge underground farm." CaesarOctavious says, showing us around. Cody476 with his laptop, cursing at it and also laughing. I looked at his screen, he was playing a card game. We boarded an elevator. "Caesar! I can't believe you're still alive! " Lemony said. "Well nobody needed to be smuggled to the Nexus Tower after the official launch pad was released." Cody said, joining our conversation, not even looking up from his laptop. We went down from the main hall, as you could call it, to the underground, where they probably lived and fed. Lemony and Caesar talked a while about how he kept his look, even after three hundred years. Caesar called it "his special medicine." Diana rolled her eyes, Mike smirked, and I sighed. Cobra studied Cody and Caesar, to see if they were hostile. They didn't seem hostile, but Cobra had proven to be overprotective. When we arrived underground, the place was as big as an airplane hangar. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of different crops grew here. Windmills supplies the power, although how they got the air I never got a straight answer from. Caesar said "magic" with a smirk, and Cody said "ask Caesar", fumbling around with a brick on his hands. Caesar had a Daredevil outfit, like the one the Daredevil specialty kit on the Venture League had, before it was disbanded. (I studied lots about the Nexus Force, in hope of starting an uprising against the New Empire.) He had two Daredevil flareguns. Cody was wearing an Inventor outfit, like the one the Assembly had. We walked through all the crops while Caesar introduced us to them, hundreds of them. We saw how machines did all the work, putting the seed, watering them, making sure they grew, stuff like that. I dreamed of having all this water, to feed each and every single seed, although if I had this much water, I'd much rather feed the dehydrated slaves and children on the streets. Mike and I already knew how to farm, since we did this as slaves, but Diana and Cobra seemed fascinated. "How can this be exciting for you?" Mike asked Diana. "I always wanted to learn about agriculture." Diana snapped back. Mike shrugged and let it go. "Caesar, you mentioned smuggling to the Nexus Tower? Can you get us there again? We need to visit." Everyone twisted their heads. They had forgotten why we were even here thanks to this beautiful self-sustaining village. "Sure, on one condition." Caesar said. "Anything!" Mike blurted out. He was also craving safety as much as I was, but we still had a long road to go, with only one Book of Plasma in our hands. I carried it. It had a blue hardcover, and a small picture of a circle on the front cover. I didn't dare open it, as I'm sure they have great power. "Take me and Cody." Caesar pleaded. "Cody and I." Cody corrected, now muttering to himself and fumbling around with his fingers. Caesar scowled at him. "Yes, both of us. We're tired of living here. We want adventure, like you guys!" Cody said. Caesar nodded. I reassured they could go with us if they got us to the tower and bagged tons of food and weapons for the group. Caesar nodded and revealed what would take us to the ruins of the most magnificent monument representing the power of the once-proud Nexus Force: A long, long, long rope. Category:Post-Gameplay Era